News and analysis on politics, human rights and civil society in Latin America by Geoffrey Ramsey

Tuesday, January 21, 2014

Santos: Colombia to Respect IACHR Decision on Bogota Mayor

After weeks of silence, Colombian President
Juan Manuel Santos has weighed in on the case of Bogota Mayor Gustavo Petro,
announcing that he will remain neutral and respect any decision on the matter
by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR).

Ever since Colombia’s inspector general
ordered Petro’s removal in December, Santos has said little about the case, and
the few times he has addressed it have been to reassure the public that he would
not interfere with constitutional checks and balances in the country. But in
an interview with Caracol
Noticias yesterday, the president signaled that his administration would
also respect a decision on the case by the IACHR.

According to Santos, the human rights body had
approached him for his opinion on Petro’s removal. “When the Inter-American
Commission asked us: ‘what do you think
about this particular case,’ I answered: ‘I have no opinion, I respect what you
as the commission determine,’” the president said. This was confirmed by Caracol
Radio, which obtained a copy of the Colombian government’s written response
to an IACHR request for information on the case. In it, Colombian Deputy Foreign
Minister Patty Londoño announced that the government “will not present a
position or opinion” on Petro’s removal, and stressed that the country would
stand by its commitment to the Inter-American human rights system.

Meanwhile, Petro’s removal has been
temporarily suspended by a local court in Cundinamarca province, which has
halted the proceeding until its constitutionality can be assessed. This has
bought Petro some time, but the likelihood of successfully challenging the
order in court is unclear.

For this reason, Petro’s defense team is
still pushing for the Inter-American Commission to order precautionary measures
from the state on his behalf to protect his right to political participation. Rafael
Barrios, a lawyer for Petro, is set to meet
with the commission today in Washington to argue the mayor’s case. Barrios
also told reporters that he expects the IACHR to make a decision on
precautionary measures this week, and he is hopeful that it will side with the
Bogota mayor.

Others are less certain. In a column
for Razon Publica, Nelson Camilo Sanchez of the Bogota-based research center
Dejusticia lists the conditions that must be met in order for the commission to
back the mayor. For precautionary
measures to be ordered, Petro’s defense must prove that: 1.) a human right is
at risk, 2.) the threat is imminent, 3.) the possibility of the right’s
violation is serious, and 4.) that the right could not be remedied after the
fact. This in itself is a tall order,
and even if the commission orders the mayor’s removal to be put on hold,
Sanchez points out that Petro’s political future would likely remain in limbo
for years. The commission would have to rule on a direct petition by Petro, and
potentially pass the case up to the Inter-American Court of Human Rights. Because
the Commission has a long list of cases on its plate, this would likely take
place after the mayor’s term is set to end in 2016.

News Briefs

The New York Times reports on recent
remarks by Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, who has proposed an
increase in the subsidized price of gasoline. While he has not provided any
details of the suggestion, the NYT notes that his position has already stirred
controversy in the country, which has a long tradition of providing cheap gas
to its citizens.

In the wake of Mexican President Enrique
Peña Nieto’s recent creation of the “Executive Commission on Attention to
Victims,” a new federal agency to oversee attention to victims of the country’s
drug-fueled violence, Animal
Politico reports that it has several challenges in the year ahead.
According to the commission’s director, Olga Noriega, these include organizing a
public defense system for victims, preparing a national registry for victims,
and establishing regulations for a reparations fund.

Shining Path founder Abimael Guzman appeared
to the public for the first time in seven years on Monday, appearing before
a court on a 1992 car bombing that killed 25 people and wounded 155. His
defense lawyer has denied that Guzman ordered the attack, and said that those
responsible have already been captured and charged, Peru21
reports.

While the Associated Press today claims
that President Maduro has lately taken
aim at Venezuelan telenovelas in a bid to rein in insecurity in the
country, Maduro has since clarified that he blames the mainstream media in
general for contributing to a culture of violence, not just popular soap
operas. To remedy this, he has called for a “communicational
revolution” in the country. The AP notes that his vice president met with heads
of broadcast and cable TV operators on Monday to review the primetime lineup, warning
that they may be in violation of a 2004 law promoting "socially
responsible" programming.

Newspapers in Venezuela are continuing to
battle a shortage of newsprint in the country, which has caused
leading papers in the country to cut back on their content. Yesterday,
representatives from some 27 newspapers gathered in Caracas to sign a letter asking
the government to take measures to facilitate the acquisition of newsprint, El
Nacional reports. Also yesterday, Catalina Botero Marino -- the IACHR’s Special Rapporteur for Freedom of
Expression -- released
a statement reminding Venezuelan authorities that the American Convention
on human Rights prohibits the restriction of newsprint.

The Mexican government’s announcement of
the arrest of an
alleged leader of the Knights Templar Cartel in Michoacan has met with
limited praise from some of the militia groups in the state. Vigilantes have
disputed the suspect’s importance, claiming that he is simply a top hit man
for the gang. The L.A.
Times reports that that Hipolito Mora, one of the most-recognized leaders
of a militia group in Michoacan, said that his men would not disarm until the
most important cartel leaders were captured.

The Economist’s Americas
Blog provides an overview of a report published
yesterday by the OECD, the UN Economic Commission for Latin America and the
Inter-American Centre of Tax Administrations on tax collection in Latin America.
The report finds that the region is heavily dependent on revenue from consumption
taxes instead of income tax, likely because the former is easier to collect.
However, the Economist notes that this contributes to unstable revenue streams
and a regressive tax structure, potentially worsening economic inequality in Latin
America.

The Nicaraguan government has announced
that Deputy Interior Minister Carlos Najar will mediate
a conflict between sugar cane companies and workers. The latter claim that working
in cane fields has put them at risk of contracting a chronic kidney disease, which
has proved fatal in many cases. In November, AP photographer Esteban Felix won
a Gabriel Garcia Marquez International Journalism Award for his multimedia presentation on the mysterious ailments
faced by sugar cane cutters in the country, which helped raise the profile
of the issue internationally.

About The Author

Geoff Ramsey works as a communications officer for the Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA). Before joining WOLA, Ramsey worked as a researcher for the Open Society Foundation’s Latin America Program. His most recent work involved monitoring civil society advocacy for and implementation of 2013 drug policy reforms in Uruguay, where he lived for nearly two years. Prior to that he spent two years living in Colombia and Brazil, where he researched and reported on regional insecurity issues for InSight Crime. Any views or opinions expressed in these posts are the sole responsibility of the author. Email: gramsey (at) thepanamericanpost (dot) com